CEMAC countries simply don’t have faculties or courses in veterinary medicine. There exists only one university course in animal production and only one in industrial food production, and both have limited teaching capacities and facilities. Thus, local human resources cannot be trained, specialised and regularly updated in this strategic field. The lack of basic education has a direct impact on the skills of local staff in the veterinary sector, and notably of those employed in pertinent ministries, who should be in a position to face with competence and professionalism important challenges such as the increase in production of livestock and the improvement in the quality of alimentary goods of animal origin.
LIVE aims to enhance the capacities of CEMAC countries in implementing and managing higher education systems in the strategic fields of veterinary sciences, animal health, animal production and food safety.
Establishment and restructuring of faculties and degree courses
The first activities focus on the educational structures, meaning academic course organisation and related facilities in the beneficiary countries. As these structures have to be updated, restructured, re-created, the project will start by a comprehensive assessment of the present assets of universitary higher education, post-graduate training (including PhD), and vocational training in the specific field of veterinary medicine, animal production and food safety in the partner countries. This is essential for the fine-tuning of the knowledgetransfer and the opening up the planning phase.
In a second step, the existing administrative and management structures will be examined. Finally, the project focus will shift to drawing up the structures of Departments and didactic laboratories (internal structures), as well as to the potential contribution that research centres and private companies, farms, slaughter houses, etc. can bring to technical and practical training of students and graduates. This activity phase will end up with the definition of the plans for the most appropriate use and management of human resources, dedicated to teaching activities.
Establishment of the didactic curricula
The partners will focus on the contents of the new educational scheme: degree courses, programmes, curricula, and evaluation schemes have to be defined exploiting the best available practices. Curricula are planned following the European guidelines. Since the degree inVeterinary Medicine has to be entirely established, a 5 years profile will be proposed, taking into account the most updated criteria regarding the qualitative/quantitative European requirements. The intention is to ensure a homogeneous study and career frame for both CEMAC and European countries.
Planning and management of post-graduate training systems
This activity deals with the strategic issue of graduate updating and specialisation. In the specific sector of animal medicine, advanced education and continuous learning are essential to face the challenges of safe mass consumables, sustainable production and human health conditions. Since that specific education is missing, the thematic areas showing greatest gaps must be identified and a series of training responses for the various target categories will be proposed. All programmes will be assessed by LIVE partners and proposed to relevant ministries for inclusion in the professional careers of the involved staff.
Project Coordinator
University of Udine
Partners
University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon
University of Ngaoundere, Cameroon
University of Dschang, Cameroon
University of Health Sciences, Gabon
University of Ndjamena, Chad
University of Equatorial Guinea
University of Parma, Italy
University of Perugia, Italy
